Let's have a quick look at it from a helicopter perspective .
Contract was for a maximum of $32.5 m Pa as stated by AMSA in the RFT
The Cobham contract is initially $53m PA for 12 years, according to press release.
The aircraft is a low wing jet which is extremely rare to be used in this low level surveillance environment.
The cargo door is not large enough to allow for despatch of all items in the current Amsa inventory, as specially stated in the RFT.
Observation windows are provided, but almost all of the field of view aft is obscured by the main plane. Any observer will tell you that sometimes a critical sighting is made when the aircraft passes over a small or semi submerged object due to changes in lighting and perspective.
The FLIR pod is aft which means looking forward the FOV is severely limited, with the radome also limiting the view.
Drop speed is greater than the design speed for the stores.
View from the cockpit is severely limited due to combing, nose and rake of the windscreen. Drops are usually called by the captain who maintains a view of the target.
All aircrew will be paid less than they have been for the last ten years while gaining first hand experience on Sar ops.
The weight of the aircraft and pcn limitations restrict where it can land, or how much useful fuel it can carry.
The list goes on.
This solution is significantly more expensive and less capable than the current aircraft, and basically the dedication and service of the current crew has been discarded as unimportant by AMSA and Cobham. The vast majority of these professionals will be out of work in order to provide an inferior service. Yep seasprite all over again, or perhaps a Robert Amann moment, for those of you who don't know, look it up.